The controllers job is to review how the city spends money, but it's no routine bookkeeping role for candidates Kenneth Mejia and Paul Koretz. In California, ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 8 are counted toward the results as long as they arrive within seven days of the election. 2023 | 2022 Single Audits. Mejia, a Koreatown resident, is an accountant who previously worked for Ernst and Young. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Hes running for state controller. Copyright 2023 by City News Service, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Call 311 or 213-473-3231 Candidate Kenneth Mejia says his deleted tweets from 2020 are a non-story. As June 7 nears, his opponents are attacking him over his political messaging. Six candidates are seeking to replace City Controller Ron Galperin at City Hall, which has been buffeted by FBI probes into council members, political aides and others. (Dont forget to sign the return envelope.) This article is about elections in the city of Los Angeles. He points to data he pulled from the L.A. Ethics Commission showing the prevalence of lobbyists spouses donating to local L.A. election campaigns in 2022 (campaign donations from lobbyists themselves are prohibited). She says she was warned not to be thorough, Column: A city councilman is charged with racketeering, and we just yawn. His billboards calling out city spending on policing have gone viral. But make no mistake: this is not a routine bookkeeping role. If an address isnt listed, youll be able to call the secretary of states voter hotline or check online. Can you imagine an easier job than being a federal investigator assigned to L.A. City Hall, where a pay-to-play culture has been entrenched for years? Koretz has emphasized the need to audit all city environmental programs and potentially replace the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which he said is completely dysfunctional. He said it was important to examine inefficiencies in the Los Angeles Police Department budget. Can the next city controller fix that? The Los Angeles law known as 41.18 limits where people can sleep and set up tents. Koretz, a longtime ally of the citys employee unions, says he supports more money for the LAPD. Ballots can also be mailed to county election officials if they are postmarked on or before Nov. 8. Los Angeles November election will feature three local ballot measures. I know first-hand she will bring progressive values and critical experience in City Hall to the job. Karen Bass elected mayor, becoming first woman to lead L.A. Bass now leads Caruso by 36,000 votes in L.A. mayors race as margin widens, Column: Karen Bass appears headed to victory. Newsom: If addiction is a brain disease, where are all the doctors? Paul Koretz had a substantial lead in early fundraising, followed by David Vahedi and Kenneth Mejia. In his first bid for citywide office, Koretz has touted his focus on renters rights, his advocacy for animal anti-cruelty laws and his environmental policies. The controllers office has more than 160 employees. Heres How To Start Your Search, Emmery Muoz, 14, Was Killed In LA 17 Years Ago. In L.A. County, the first batch of results released includes vote by mail ballots received before Election Day, followed by early votes cast at vote centers before Election Day, then votes cast in-person on Election Day. Mejia won 60.81% of the vote as of Wednesday morning to Koretzs 39.19%. Mejia, in turn, has portrayed Koretz as ineffective and unethical an establishment politician supported by the citys police union, real estate interests and the fossil fuel industry. Among them: allowing more civilians to take over certain tasks from sworn officers, reducing overtime, and opening more local jails to reduce travel time and costs for booking suspects. Now his deleted tweets are shaking up the city controllers race, L.A. Times electoral endorsements for November 2022, whats on the ballot in Californias 2022 midterm election, ballot must be received no later than Nov. 15, How to vote in the 2022 midterm election in California, Californias fall election could sway power in Congress. [2] The seats of the Los Angeles City Controller and the Los Angeles City Attorney were also up for election, as their incumbents, Mike Feuer and Ron Galperin, were running for mayor and California State Controller respectively.[3][4]. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Those graphics, on social media and old-school billboards, have shown the amount of money provided to the LAPD, the cost of city legal payouts, the locations of park facilities and other information. LA is falling short in $1.2-billion effort for more homeless housing, controller audit says, Controller cuts off salary for Jose Huizar, LA councilman arrested in FBI City Hall corruption probe. Newly-elected Kenneth Mejia joins Councilmember Nithya Raman as some of the citys most visible Asian American progressives. To that end, we will rely on NPR and The Associated Press for race calls. But unions have not been heavily involved in the controllers race. But politics also loom large. Galperin also unleashed a wealth of data showing city spending and city payrolls in an online portal and database open to the public. Former L.A. Cook Road and Route 105 are also among the worst roads in the province. If youre concerned about corruption in City Hall, this is a race youll want to pay close attention to. Active public accountants have to complete 80 hours of continuing education every two years, so in Mejias case, that could have been missed. Hes an active figure in social justice movements in L.A., many of them driven by younger voters who want more transparency and action from city leadership. Paul Koretz represents District 5 on the L.A. City Council (which includes communities on the Westside and southern and central San Fernando Valley). Still, Koretz is an established city councilmember with nearly three decades of experience in politics and numerous high-profile endorsements to back it up. Audit homelessness funds and programs, including calculating the costs of unhoused encampment sweeps and criminalization. [1] More than forty candidates formed committees to run. Then, additional results will be released following a schedule you can see on the county's site. A significant number of votes still must be counted in coming days, with Stephanie Clements, a chief financial officer, in third place. She received just 136 votes more than the third-place winner, Marina Torres. Now its a major election issue. Hes drawn criticism for deleted tweets calling then-presidential nominee Joe Biden and President Donald Trump sexual predators. Mejia argued that his experience as an accountant is what makes him the better fit for controller. Controller Laura Chick uncovered more than 7,000 untested DNA rape kits sitting in a Los Angeles Police Department lab freezer, some more than a decade old. Think of the controller more as a watchdog. Think of the. Koretz was in hot water this year for complaints about campaign ethics violations. A former L.A. deputy mayor worked to arrange indirect bribes for city officials by routing money through officials family members, prosecutors allege. If he was elected, he would have moved into a role thats responsible for auditing his soon-to-be former colleagues. He's running against City Council member Paul Koretz to be Los Angeles' next city controller, touting his experience as a certified public accountant. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022. He left office on December 12, 2022. Accountant Kenneth Mejia and Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz are in the lead in the Los Angeles city controllers race, according to results reported early Wednesday, June 8 by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorders Office. Six candidates were competing to be the next Los Angeles city controller, a sometimes obscure job that comes with significant powers to conduct audits of city programs and to investigate complaints of waste, fraud and abuse involving city resources. We help you understand who's who and what's next. The new state Legislature is the most diverse ever, but by some measures, it still isnt fully representative of California. Dear voter, we're asking you to help us keep local election news widely available for all today. Huge bear captured on video casually roaming Arcadia neighborhood, NFL player's 2-year-old daughter drowns in swimming pool, Virginia Beach struck by tornado, dozens of homes damaged. We did it, Mejia tweeted Tuesday night. Their work is limited to the city of Los Angeles. A series of corruption scandals has rocked City Hall, and each candidate says they are the best choice to provide better oversight and watchdogging. The controller is required to exercise general supervision over the accounts of all officers and departments of the city, including the independent departments of Airports, Water and Power and Harbor. Controller candidates present policy positions(Daily Bruin), Whos running for city controller?(LAist). L.A. has a corruption problem. Mejia was a member of the Koreatown Neighborhood Council where he advocated for tenant protections under consideration by the L.A. City Council. The current City Controller is Kenneth Mejia, more information is available athttps://controller.lacity.gov. And he has reminded voters that Mejia, while supporting Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, circulated an image of himself holding an oversized, photoshopped image of Hillary Clinton behind bars wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. To be counted, a ballot must be received no later than Nov. 15. The controllers office manages payroll for city employees, audits city departments, and issues reports on how those departments are spending city funds. Here are basics on their backgrounds and stances on specific issues, sourced from their campaign websites, public statements, local news coverage and an April 10 debate hosted by the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates, the most recent public appearance by both candidates. Election Home; Candidates Open drop down menu. Outgoing Controller Ron Galperin has produced reports on major city efforts such as those aimed at tackling the homelessness crisis notably his review of problems impacting the controversial Proposition HHH bond measure, approved by voters in 2016 to raise $1.2 billion to build housing for the homeless. He understands that policing is one of the biggest problems that L.A. is facing, and the fact that theyre taking so much of the money, Corado said. Mejia responded by calling Chick, who stepped down in 2009, a career politician, and said Koretz is relying on smears to win. Top priorities: If elected, Koretz says he would: On how to reduce corruption in local government: Koretz says inviting the FBI to do stings would serve as a deterrent against bribery and corruption and help restore public trust. Meanwhile, Clements says she will call out expensive salary agreements negotiated by Koretz and his colleagues. Current Controller Ron Galperin has been in office since 2013 and is termed out. California Guide to the 2022 race for L.A. city controller Candidates for Los Angeles city controller, clockwise from top left, Paul Koretz, Stephanie Clements, Reid Lidow, J. Carolan. Mejia was a member of the Koreatown Neighborhood Council where he advocated for tenant protections under consideration by the L.A. City Council. Shawn Hubler June 7, 2022 The A.P. Eight of the fifteen seats in the City Council were up for election while three of the seven seats in the LAUSD Board of Education were up for election. L.A. has a corruption problem. According to his campaign website, Mejia would provide a detailed accounting of spending of the city's homelessness budget, audit the cost of sweeps of homeless encampments and create databases of shelter availability and all housing units in the city. Will it happen in 2022? Find out with these voting guides for local and California races and state propositions. (After Mejia confronted Koretz over a campaign fundraiser that featured the president of a Bakersfield oil company, Koretz gave the businessmans donation back.). Audit funds and programs that address climate change. He worked on audits of multimillion-dollar and billion-dollar private and public companies and in 2016 joined the L.A. 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Rodrguez is running for 'a new vision for our public schools', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2022_Los_Angeles_elections&oldid=1152443711, Hydee Feldstein Soto, attorney and neighborhood councilmember, Teddy Kapur, attorney and partner at Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP, Richard Kim, deputy city attorney and former president of the Korean Prosecutors Association, Sherri Onica Valle Cole, attorney and educator, Stephanie Clements, assistant director of Public Works, James O'Gabhann III, teacher and candidate for, Rob Wilcox, spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Attorney, Stephanie Clements, assistant director of Public Works and 3rd-place finisher in the primary election, Elaine Alaniz, filmmaker and crisis responder, Scott Epstein, social sciences researcher, Sam Yebri, community leader, attorney, and former city commissioner, Molly Basler, owner of Inside Out Fitness/Wellness, Jeff Ebenstein, director of policy for Paul Koretz, Allison Holdorff Polhill, chief advisor to LAUSD board member, Jim Murez, Venice Neighborhood Council President, Greg Good, Commissioner on the City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works, Midsanon "Soni" Lloyd, public school teacher, Michael Newhouse, president of the Venice Neighborhood Council, Christopher Baker, international trade adviser, Maryam Zar, city commissioner and founder of Womenfound, Stephen Johnson, Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff, Kate Pynoos, former homelessness policy adviser to Councilman, Carlos H. Flowers, self-identified defense sales representative, Dylan Kendall, designer and founder of Hollywood Arts, Rachael Rose Luckey, transgender housing rights advocate and Rampart Village Neighborhood Council President, Clarendon K. "Clay" Johnston, community activist, Anthony D. Santich, business professional, Bryant Odega, teacher, community organizer for, Mark Contreras, youth and senior advocate, Robert M. Miller, artist and environmental activist, Shannon Ross, neighborhood council member, LaMar Lyons, administrator for nonprofits, Maria Brenes, leader of InnerCity Struggle, Miguel Angel Segura, public school teacher, Gentille Barkhordarian, electrical engineer, Tracey Schroeder, elementary school teacher, Jesus Arana, police sergeant and educator, Marvin Rodriguez, Spanish teacher and veteran, This page was last edited on 30 April 2023, at 07:53. Your financial support allows our reporters to research candidates and provide you and your neighbors the tools you need to make informed decisions when casting your ballot. His opponent, Mejia, earned his bachelor of science in accounting from Woodbury University and received his certified public accountant license. You can find more on NPR and The AP's process for counting votes and calling races here, here and here. On social media, Mejia has focused on management problems inside the citys animal shelters, undercutting Koretzs reputation as a longtime animal advocate. Ballots can be placed in drop boxes or submitted in person at voting centers. The candidates include a city council staffer, two community organizers, the head of a housing nonprofit, the head of the San Fernando Valley NAACP, and three people in private business. How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! Councilmember Mike Bonin is also supporting him, as are The Times editorial board and Spanish-language La Opinin. They can also cast ballots early at voting centers or wait until Nov. 8 to vote at their neighborhood polling places. But that hasnt stopped the two candidates from staking out different positions on police spending and public safety overall. United States Senate. Because there aren't too many places in City Hall where that can be done.. At a forum focused on transit issues, no one mentioned the disgraced former councilmember. The Times editorial page publishes endorsements based on candidate interviews and independent reporting. Mejia, for his part, has held jobs over the past decade with Ernst & Young, Canyon Capital Advisors, Activision and other companies. Koretz supports the anti-encampment law, saying he thinks its reasonable to ask homeless people to move a block or two away to keep sidewalks clear around schools. Tenants Union where he assisted tenants facing rent increases and evictions. The controller will also face pressure to expose corruption within city government, on the heels of a billing lawsuit scandal at the Department of Water and Power and the recent indictments of three city councilmembers over corruption charges. Top priorities: If elected, Mejia says he would: On how to reduce corruption in local government: Mejia says his campaign has already made efforts to increase transparency and call out corruption in local government. Read more about Paul Koretz's priorities and experience on. He said he is a political outsider, arguing that this would help him hold accountable city departments and officials. We're tracking races across California and Los Angeles County. Nominating Petition signature gathering period. LA Metro survey: About 600 homeless riders exit nightly when train service ends, Willie Nelsons Hollywood Bowl 90th birthday celebration is star-studded event, Notre Dame softballs Ella Parker has embraced that her dominance comes at a walking price, LA County says Judge Carter exceeded authority by rejecting homeless settlement, Small plane crash near Mulholland Drive kills 1 aboard, Stagecoach 2023: Kane Brown, Bryan Adams and Nelly close out Day 2, Got expired Bed Bath & Beyond coupons? He's had a long career in local and state government and had a wide lead in fundraising. Koretz, who represents City Council District 5 and whose term is up on the City Council, was elected as a councilman in 2009 after serving at the West Hollywood Council and California state assemblyman. Click here to learn more about the city's mayoral election. Then something changed, Most of Yosemite Valley is closed due to potentially perilous snowpack and flooding, What was behind the protest against an archaeologist at last weeks L.A. Times Book Festival, Column: If not cops or guns, what will it take to make us feel safe? Heres How To Start Your Search, Emmery Muoz, 14, Was Killed In LA 17 Years Ago. La CAQ est rlue et formera un gouvernement majoritaire. The top two will face off in the November general election. "After 10+ years of failing to address the animal shelter crisis, Koretz is using his last few weeks as committee chair to ham-handedly try to alleviate the crisis,'' Mejia said on Twitter. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. The City Charter establishes the Controller as an elected official and gives the Controller the responsibility for serving as the auditor and chief accounting officer of the City. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood. On affordable housing and homelessness: Koretz says that during his time on the Council he pushed for creating a database to track affordable housing units set aside in market-rate developments. bindi harris net worth, current funerals in buxton,
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